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Elevator misuse?

I (used to and/or will) work (or studied) in a place overwhelmed with people, where the buildings are at least 5 storeys high and have only three or four elevators. As a result, people often have to wait long not only to get in elevators, but also to reach the floor they want to. Sometimes it takes so long I take stairs even for floors above level 5 or so, knowing I'll reach there earlier.

Thus it irks me when I see young, healthy, non-disabled people taking the elevator to go only one/two floors up/down. It's really time-wasting for the others (imagine the time wasted to stop at the designated floor, open the door, halt for a moment, and then go again, at every single floor, going up and down!), not to mention space occupying, especially for those who really need elevators.

Sadly, the signs on the elevator buttons hardly have any effects.

How do you feel about this?

come now, my child. if we were planning to harm you, do you think
we'd be lurking here beside the path in the darkest part of the forest?

Re: Elevator misuse?

I totally get your point of view as I don't take the elevator if it's less than 3 floors. However, as long as they are not disobeying rules in that building, let them be. It's like getting mad at people for standing in line to drink water from the public water fountain when they are not thirsty at all. There are no rules that you absolutely have to be thirsty in order to drink water.

Also, there are days when my legs are sore due to a new leg exercise routine. That's when I take the elevator for 1 floor.

Re: Elevator misuse?

Originally Posted by freefall

Thus it irks me when I see young, healthy, non-disabled people taking the elevator to go only one/two floors up/down. It's really time-wasting for the others (imagine the time wasted to stop at the designated floor, open the door, halt for a moment, and then go again, at every single floor, going up and down!), not to mention space occupying, especially for those who really need elevators.

In older buildings, the elevators and stairs tend to be in the same area. Stairwells are often adjacent to the elevator shafts in these buildings, as the architectural philosophy was to have a common vertical shaft in the building for movement up and down by whatever means.

In newer buildings, the stairwells are often located far from the elevators and are sometimes difficult to find. I commented to an architect friend of mine that I had the impression that the stairs were being deliberately hidden. His reaction was "Yes, exactly!" It seems the new attitude is that stairs are only included to meet the fire code, and are only intended for emergency use. It is therefore considered good architecture to tuck them away unobtrusively, in parts of the building where nobody will notice them.

There is also an attitude (which I have never been able to understand) that stairs constitute a security risk. I used to work in a government building where all of the stairwell doors locked behind you when you entered the stairwell. You could not, therefore, use the stairs to move from floor to floor - they were only for emergency use. Once you entered the stairwell and the door closed behind you, your only option was to go down to the lobby and take the elevator up (even if you were on the 20th floor!).

We have trained people always to use elevators by making stairs deliberately difficult (or even impossible) to use.

Re: Elevator misuse?

Originally Posted by T-Rexx

In newer buildings, the stairwells are often located far from the elevators and are sometimes difficult to find. I commented to an architect friend of mine that I had the impression that the stairs were being deliberately hidden. His reaction was "Yes, exactly!" It seems the new attitude is that stairs are only included to meet the fire code, and are only intended for emergency use. It is therefore considered good architecture to tuck them away unobtrusively, in parts of the building where nobody will notice them.

There is also an attitude (which I have never been able to understand) that stairs constitute a security risk. I used to work in a government building where all of the stairwell doors locked behind you when you entered the stairwell. You could not, therefore, use the stairs to move from floor to floor - they were only for emergency use. Once you entered the stairwell and the door closed behind you, your only option was to go down to the lobby and take the elevator up (even if you were on the 20th floor!).

We have trained people always to use elevators by making stairs deliberately difficult (or even impossible) to use.

I don't know about the locked stairways; they sound like emergency exits to me, which are not normally used for everyday use (although I often use them to travel through floors).

And yes, I feel about the hidden stairways - and that one is an exception. I've encountered that situation and always find myself annoyed by the 'absence' of the stairs while waiting the elevators to take me only one floor up/down.

I'm talking about when the stairs are easily accessible. I mean, in my workplace, the stairs are located right opposite the elevators - you have to be blind to entirely miss it, and it's quite ironic to see youngsters waiting for the elevator while some frail decrepit old people stagger and swivel on the small steep steps without assistance.

Last edited by freefall; March 5th, 2013 at 03:05 AM.

come now, my child. if we were planning to harm you, do you think
we'd be lurking here beside the path in the darkest part of the forest?

Re: Elevator misuse?

We have a freight elevator.. as the name implys, it is used for hauling things you don't want to pack up any stairs.
I have quite a few lazy coworkers who use the freight elevator to go only one level from where they were to go have a cigarette .
I totally get your angst.